Presented by the Buildings Worth Saving
Committee of the Atlanta Preservation Center:

2005 List of Endangered Buildings:

Auburn/Edgewood Ave. Commercial District, 1929-1968
Address: Auburn and Edgewood avenues west of I-75/85
Owner/Contact: Big Bethel AME Church, Rev. James Davis, 404-827-9707. The developer is The Integral Group, Egbert Perry, 404-224-1860
Threat: Demolition and facadectomy of buildings that contribute to the federally and locally designated Martin Luther King Jr. historic district, which was established to show Auburn Avenue during the lifetime of Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).

This year is the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and Preservation District by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior. In 2004 zoning was approved for the Auburn/Edgewood Ave. commercial district to allow mixed use redevelopment that would revitalize the Auburn Avenue neighborhood. The hope was that it would be done in a preservation sensitive manner that would take into account the context -- one of the nation’s premier historic sites. The Integral Group plan has, however, proved controversial. Zoning has also been approved for eight additional blocks of redevelopment on Auburn Ave.

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